Saving Seafood

Bill package in Congress funds Chesapeake Bay cleanup

July 11, 2017 — A legislative package in Congress proposes funding several environmental initiatives that would help pay for Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts.

Six out of nine of the bills included in the package were originally introduced by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., according to the senator’s spokesman.

According to a statement from the senator’s office, the package would “reauthorize marquis programs at the heart of restoring and maintaining the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.” Both Democrats and Republicans have signed on as sponsors.

“A healthy Bay means a healthy economy for Maryland and the entire Chesapeake Bay Watershed region, which cannot be accomplished without a reliable federal partner,” Cardin said. “I urge appropriators to take note of the bipartisan support for authorizing these programs, despite the president’s lack of understanding of their worthiness.”

Chesapeake Bay cleanup funding is feared to be in jeopardy following the release of President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, which altogether eliminates funding for the Chesapeake Bay Program, an arm of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s that helps facilitate Bay cleanup between states across the watershed and tracks progress of pollution reduction.

One part of the legislation would reauthorize and fund the Chesapeake Bay Program until 2023 at $90 million each year, which Cardin’s office said is more than the program has ever been funding in its history.

Read the full story at The Star Democrat

LYNTON S. LAND: Bay fishery to keep deteriorating unless nutrients from land are addressed

June 28, 2017 — The March Bay Journal 2017 commentary, Don’t let menhaden become a case of could have, should have, would have, laments the decline in Bay menhaden populations and blames the reduced number of predatory “sport” fish on Omega Protein’s harvest.

The Atlantic States Marine fisheries Commission is quite clear this year that “Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing” (asmfc.org/species/atlantic-menhaden).

In Maryland, juvenile menhaden are sampled annually through the Estuarine Juvenile Finfish Survey. The index of juvenile menhaden has been low since 1992, and “environmental conditions seem to be a major factor driving recruitment.” (dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Documents/Section_4_Atlantic_Menhaden.pdf).

Something other than overfishing must contribute to, or even be responsible for, reduced Bay menhaden populations. I contend that the primary cause of depleted finfish stocks, including bottom-feeding fish like croaker that do not eat menhaden, and the menhaden themselves, is poor water quality, not overfishing.

As a child in the late 1940s, I recall visiting my uncle’s cottage on the water near Solomons Island, MD, where we caught large bluefish and rockfish. He would give me a quarter to pull up eelgrass from under his boat so the propeller wouldn’t chop it up and foul the engine’s water pump. Dense meadows of grass were obvious beneath the clear water. I doubt there is much eelgrass anywhere near Solomons Island today and Bernie Fowler’s “Wade-In” documents turbidity and the fact that there has been no recent improvement.

I moved to Virginia’s Northern Neck on the Little Wicomico River, near Smith Point, in 1998. At that time, I could exit the jetties and turn to the southeast into about 30 feet of water and easily catch large croaker, as well as spot, trout and flounder. I haven’t caught fish there, nor seen them on the depth sounder, in many years.

The pound nets nearby still catch menhaden for crab bait, although they are smaller than fish in the past. They no longer catch many “food fish.”

In about 2000, big Omega trawlers fishing for menhaden were common up to the Maryland-Virginia line. Now, I never see the trawlers and most of the plentiful menhaden are being caught outside the Bay, where the population is robust. In late summer, schools of Spanish mackerel and bluefish once chased bait on the bar west of Smith Point Light. Casting into the schools, as they were being worked by birds, or trolling beside them, was great fun and very productive. No more.

Spanish mackerel, my favorite fish, are no longer abundant and I rarely see birds actively working the water. Trolling for big rockfish was almost always successful a decade ago. Lately it is more often unsuccessful, although a few are still being caught.

Read the full opinion piece at the Bay Journal

In the Mid-Atlantic, nobody fishes more than New Jersey

June 9, 2017 — New Jersey is the leader in the Mid-Atlantic region when it comes to saltwater recreational fishing, according to the findings of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report.

No fishermen take more trips, buy more fishing tackle or work in the industry more than fishermen do in the Garden State.

The Mid-Atlantic States in the report include Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

The report, titled Fisheries Economics of the U.S., 2015, was released in May.

Based on the report’s 2015 numbers, New Jersey’s saltwater recreational fishing industry generated the most jobs 16,100 jobs, sales at $1.8 million and took the most fishing trips at 4.3 million.

New York was next with 7,800 jobs, $874 million in sales and 3.2 million trips.

Nationally, New Jersey’s saltwater recreational fishing industry ranked 3rd in jobs created behind Florida and California, 4th in sales behind Florida, California and Texas and 3rd in trips taken behind Florida and North Carolina.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

Fish, seafood distributors tipping the scales in favor of safety

May 26, 2017 — J. J. McDonnell & Co., Inc. processes thousands of pounds of fish a day: lobster trucked to its Howard County headquarters from Maine, crabs plucked from Tangier Sound, farmed oysters from Southern Maryland and tuna flown in from Africa. They’re different species, but their requirements are the same — constant, consistent cold. Under 50 degrees for live fish, under 40 degrees for dead ones.

With uncertainty about new regulations and increases in the reported cases of food-borne illnesses, wholesale fish distributors are taking their need for refrigeration to a whole new level — and place. Some, like McDonnell, have moved out of the wholesale city markets that used to be gathering places for early-morning fish delivery and banter. Others are going out of business, selling out to competitors, or merging to share space and expenses.

All of this is happening because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has in the past signaled it was looking at tougher regulations to bring seafood under refrigeration, which is the first line of defense against pathogens and illnesses. But changes are also happening because distributors’ customers are getting larger and more global as well as seeking increasingly high standards to ensure their food is safe. The pressure is coming both from the threat of regulatory changes and the industry itself.

Regulators in the past have been concerned about Vibrio, a bacteria that lives in warm waters and can contaminate seafood.

In 2013, 104 cases of illness from ingesting the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — including several in Maryland and Virginia. That type of Vibrio, which typically results in a severely upset stomach, comes from eating raw or undercooked seafood, usually oysters. It often occurs in the warmer months, as Vibrio thrives in temperatures above 70 degrees.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Chesapeake Bay earns ‘C’ for overall health; blue crabs, rockfish, anchovies are thriving

May 9, 2017 — Maryland environmental scientists gave the Chesapeake Bay a “C” for overall health in 2016, with improved fish populations and water conditions contributing to the second-highest grade the ecosystem has received in 30 years of scoring.

The report card released Monday by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science showed that the bay is 54 percent of the way toward achieving key health benchmarks, an uptick of one percentage point compared with the previous year.

Experts cited the results as proof that efforts to clean up the estuary are working.

“While only a slight improvement, it’s encouraging that the overall health remained steady despite many pressures on the Chesapeake Bay and across its watershed,” said Bill Dennison, a top scientist with the center.

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), speaking at a news conference in Baltimore, called for continued federal support for bay restoration. He noted that President Trump this year proposed slashing funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts. Congress last month approved a fiscal 2017 budget that maintains funding for the bay at $73 million, the same level as the previous year.

“The long-term investment is working,” Cardin said. “We can’t slow down. . . . It’s critically important to maintain the strong federal role.”

The bay’s highest score on record, 55 percent, occurred in 2002. The Chesapeake earned its lowest score, 36 percent, the following year. The Center for Environmental Science awards an “A” for scores of 80 to 100 percent; “B” for 60 to 79 percent; “C” for 40 to 59 percent; “D” for 20 to 39 percent; and “F” for anything lower than that.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

MARYLAND: Oyster sanctuary bill finds support in House of Delegates

March 20, 2017 — The House of Delegates voted 102-39 on Thursday in favor of a bill that would keep intact existing oyster sanctuaries on the Chesapeake Bay, a blow to the commercial fishing industry’s efforts to expand the state’s oyster fisheries.

Supporters and opponents of the bill, named the Oyster Management Plan, are both saying that their solution is best for the long-term health of the bay and its oyster population, which helps clean the Chesapeake by filtering nutrients like excess algae out of the water column.

“(The Oyster Management Plan) protects the fragile progress that has been made to date in recovering oyster populations,” the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said in written testimony to the House Environment and Transportation Committee on Feb. 24. “This bill would in no way impact (the Department of Natural Resource’s) ability to manage the public oyster fishery, including the development of rotational harvest management for public oyster bottom.”

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Maryland’s veteran crab manager fired after watermen complain to Governor Hogan

February 23, 2017 — Maryland’s veteran manager of the state’s blue crab fishery was fired this week after a group of watermen complained to Gov. Larry Hogan about a catch regulation that they contend hurts their livelihood — but that scientists say is needed to ensure a sustainable harvest.

Brenda Davis, crab program manager for the Department of Natural Resources and a 28-year state employee, said she was informed Tuesday that her services were no longer needed.

In an interview Wednesday, Davis said Fisheries Director Dave Blazer gave no reason for her summary dismissal. But it came after Hogan met last week with about a dozen Dorchester County watermen who had been pressing Davis and the DNR for a change in a long-time regulation setting the minimum catchable size for crabs.

“I was totally shocked. It was totally unexpected,” Davis said yesterday. “I was really surprised and a bit disappointed given my time there that re-assignment wasn’t an option, because I think I’m going to be short on being able to do full retirement.”

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

MARYLAND: Sanctuary request withdrawn

February 3, 2017 — The Baltimore National Aquarium’s sponsorship of a proposal to have Baltimore Canyon declared an Urban Marine Sanctuary ended Wednesday with a letter from aquarium CEO John C. Racanelli notifying federal officials that it is withdrawing its nomination.

The letter to John Armor, director of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in Silver Spring, ends months of disagreement between the aquarium and local fishing interests, who feared that granting the canyon limited protected status now might lead to heavier restrictions  later that would prevent them from fishing those waters.

Roughly 60 miles off the coast, the 28-mile-long canyon has long been one of the locations favored by anglers in the pursuit of marlin and other gamefish, hence the jittery initial response from the industry locally when the aquarium announced its plan in October with assurances that fishing would not be affected.

Read the full story at Ocean City Today 

CHRISTI LINARDICH: Fishing isn’t the problem

January 12, 2017 — “Let scientists manage menhaden approach” (editorial, Dec. 28) perpetuates the belief that so many people seem to have lately — that the largest impact on striped bass populations is lack of menhaden to eat.

According to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, menhaden biomass was lowest during the mid-1990s to mid-2000s, but during that time (1993-2004, to be exact) striper recruitment was strong.

This is not easily explained, but neither is the simplified belief that taking a sustainable amount of menhaden out is magically taking striper off the end of people’s fishing lines.

Critics conveniently ignore the fact that the Chesapeake Bay and associated rivers, which striper depend on to complete their reproductive cycle and menhaden rely on for nursery grounds, has been severely altered by humans through dams and pollution.

Read the full letter to the editor at the Virginian-Pilot

Fisheries managers seek Delmarva anglers’ input on flounder regulations

January 4, 2017 — BERLIN, Md. – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control each have public hearings scheduled to gather public comment on a new proposal for summer flounder management by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The ASMFC’s Draft Addendum XXVIII seeks alternative management approaches for a coast-wide 30% reduction in the recreational harvest of summer flounder in 2017. This comes after the ASMFC says a 2016 stock assessment estimated the flounder population as lower than previously expected and fishing mortality higher than it had been in recent years.

According to the the addendum, the commission is considering several different management options to meet reduction goals, including coast-wide size limit increases for flounder and more consistency among different states’ possession and size limits.

Delaware, Maryland and Virginia all make up one region within the ASMFC’s five region flounder management area up and down the Atlantic coast.

Read the full story at WMDT